Speedboat flips in Lake Havasu as racers attempt to break speed record
Racers survive wild speedboat crash at Lake Havasu
Spectators witnessed an astonishing, somersaulting speedboat hurtling through midair before crashing into Lake Havasu. Luckily the crew walked away with minor injuries. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has more.
LAKE HAVASU, Ariz. - Terrifying moments on Lake Havasu as the need for speed lifts a boat off the water, flipping high into the air.
The frightening scene unfolded on April 26 as the speed boat was trying to break a record.
Somehow, both racers walked away from it all, lucky to be alive.
What we know:
Their 10,000-horsepower speedboat was set up for a record-breaking run when disaster struck.
We spoke to Speedboat Magazine's Ray Lee for his reaction to the crash.
He said the team was hoping to make history this weekend.
A different view: Boat goes airborne on Lake Havasu
We're getting a new view of a viral moment at Lake Havasu when a Kansas City racing team trying to break a record went airborne. The boat launched into the air at nearly 210 mph.
What they're saying:
"It's a 388 skater and it's estimated at about 10,000 horsepower. So they came to Lake Havasu earlier in the week intending to break the record here for the desert storm shootout. That was their first pass of the day and when they went over, the radar picked them up at 200.1 mph," said Lee.
Fellow competitors say the men owe their lives to the people who built the vessel.
"The last thing you ever want to see is a crash and especially something as horrendous as that," said Jeff Clark, a shootout competitor.
Clark has been around boats his whole life but just started competing in speedboat shootouts over the last five years.
He says going that fast can take away a driver's ability to react.
"At that speed, it doesn't take much, you know, those tunnel holes are built to pack air so the boat rides on top of the water. You know it's like on a rail and if you pack up too much and that nose gets too high it'll just - at that speed - it'll take you airborne."
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The other side:
Clark says the sight of a fellow competitor's boat flying through the air was chilling.
"My heart dropped when I saw that boat get airborne. It's never something you want to look at when you're out having fun as a driver for sure," he said.
Both Clark and Lee say windy conditions may have played a factor but also may have helped those onboard.
"Best case scenario, because of the wind, when the boat cut it, it held it up there longer than (if there) had there not been such substantial wind," said Lee.
"You hold your breath and you hold it until you see both racers emerge from the cockpit," he said. "For the most part, uninjured."
The backstory:
Both men are with Freedom One Racing and go by the names John Wayne and Clint Eastwood to hide their real identities.
They're from Kansas City, Missouri and are on a mission to bring back the speed record to the lake: 206 mph!
Dig deeper:
There have been 11 fatal racing crashes on Lake Havasu since 1963, according to Motorsport Memorial, with the deadliest incident happening in 2018 when three people died when a boat called "Lickety Split" crashed.
Clark says that safety improvements made to sport boats over the years make the difference in these scary situations.
"Those guys are alive for one reason and one reason only. That boat was built not to come apart. So when they were sitting in that cockpit and when you look at pictures of the boats, it's totally destroyed but the cockpit is in perfect condition. I tip my hat to Skater and the crew that built that boat because it saved that guy's life, it saved both of their lives, there's no doubt about it," he said.
Air systems and access hatches are other safety measures Jeff Clark mentioned as part of the design process on sport boats to keep those onboard as safe as possible.